Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Governor O’Malley Promotes Invest Maryland
Governor Martin O’Malley promoted his administration’s top economic development initiative today in Annapolis. The Senate Budget and Taxation Committee and House Ways & Means Committee heard legislation establishing the Invest Maryland Program (SB 180/HB 173).
Invest Maryland is a tax credit program designed to generate $100 million in investment funding for emerging Maryland businesses. O’Malley introduced Invest Maryland in hopes of stimulating job creation and economic growth, intended to strengthen Maryland’s resources for nurturing growth in our state’s biotech, information technology, and clean-technology industries.
The Maryland Chamber of Commerce supports the initiative. “Maryland is a small business state, and we support this initiative to help innovative small businesses grow and create jobs,” Maryland Chamber President and CEO Kathy Snyder, CCE said.
Under the program, the state would auction up to $142 million of premium tax credits to insurance companies at a discounted rate. In exchange, the insurance companies will claim the credits over five years beginning in 2014. Proceeds from the auction would be deposited to special funds within the Department of Business and Economic Development (DBED). About half of the funds will be invested in qualified businesses through private sector venture funds. The other half will be distributed to qualified companies through DBED’s Enterprise Fund and the Maryland Small Business Development Financing Authority.
In order to be eligible to receive a venture capital investment, a company must have its principal business operations in Maryland, have fewer than 250 employees, and not be primarily engaged in retail sales, real estate development or certain financial or professional services.
While supporting the bill, the Chamber also encouraged lawmakers to amend the bill to make changes to strengthen accountability, clarify how the credits will be auctioned and ensure fiscal responsibility. Click here to view a PDF of the Chamber’s full position statement.
For more information on this bill, contact Kathy Snyder at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).
Renée Winsky, Chief Executive Officer of the Tech Council of Maryland and Sean Looney, Vice Chairman of the Maryland Chamber’s Legislative Committee and Vice President of Government Affairs for Comcast, explain why Invest Maryland is important for our economy.
